He staggered. I grabbed his wrist with both hands, keeping us together (and yanking—once a butthead, always a butthead).

“Right.” His yank was much more effective. “We have to go right. Then left. Pain is better than death.”

Not always, but it wasn’t the moment to split hairs.

I followed his lead. Pain stabbed my leg. I wobbled, pulled upright by Emery. He staggered, but kept going. My breath wheezed out of my chest, my lungs closing down. His breathing was labored as well. My stomach clenched and sight left my right eye. Razors clawed down my arms.

“There. Just there.” The ward draped down in front of us, twenty feet away.

The air dried up in my lungs. I’d run out of time.

Chapter Thirty-Two

I pushed on with everything I had. Black spots danced in my vision. Agony welled up through my body.

Emery grabbed me by the back of my vest and flung me, trying to sacrifice himself to get me clear.

Over my dead body! Probably literally.

I twisted and reached back, catching hold of his wrist and refusing to release it. I did get a good yank in that time, ripping at my shoulder. He used the momentum, took a leap, and we rolled beyond the line.

Sweet air rushed into my lungs. The bone-crunching pain drifted away, leaving only an unpleasant memory in its wake. Gasping, Emery army-crawled toward me. He half lay on me, his hands on my face, looking worried.

“Are you okay?” He peered in my eyes before looking down over my body, touching gently. Back up at my face, he ran a thumb over my chin. “Penny, are you hurt?”

I breathed deeply, staring into those Milky Way eyes. “I’m okay. But that was a close one.”

His relieved exhale fell across my face. “Yes, it was. I couldn’t see any magic drifting down. I have no idea what kind of a spell that was.”

“It connected with something in the ground, I think. I can’t be sure, but in the beginning, that’s what it felt like.”

A small line appeared between his eyebrows and he shook his head. “I’ve never heard of something like that. But the guild has access to a lot of resources. With all their manpower, they could afford to keep a huge spell running.”

“Whatever this spell was, it must’ve created the dead feeling there. The lack of anything natural. Which will stifle their magic in the end, mark my words.”

His thumb still stroked a burning line along my jaw. His eyes roamed my face slowly, landing on my lips. “We should get going. We don’t want to be caught. Right now, they don’t know who was lurking around.”

I nodded, but my hand had its own ideas. I felt up his arms to his shoulders, the warmth in my chest intensifying.

His head bowed a fraction, his eyes glued to my lips. Someone shouted behind us. He jerked away and looked over his shoulder.

“We have to go.” He got to his feet and pulled me up with him. “Can you walk?”

“Of course I can walk.” Limping counted.

“Come on, Turdswallop.” He swooped me up, and for a second I thought he would carry me romantically in his arms. Instead, he flung me over his shoulder and hastened toward the tree line. “Let’s get you in that bath you were talking about.”

“Will you join me?” I hadn’t meant to say it. It just sorta fell out of my mouth.

I held my breath in the silence that followed, knowing I should retract the question…but I didn’t want to. The guy was way more experienced than I was. I’d probably make a fool of myself with whatever followed the bath. But for once, I was sure the result would be worth the embarrassment.

Finally, he answered, his voice thick. “I don’t think your mother would approve.” He pulled his phone out of his back pocket. I saw the crack in the screen from my dangling position. He’d obviously fallen on it.

I opened my mouth to argue, because really, what parent would approve of their unwed child’s naked activities, but I let it go. My mother had given him an awful lot of harassing about his life. He was probably still working through the sting. Eventually he’d get his confidence back, and I would awkwardly pedal myself out when the time came. No sweat.

The driver met us at the pickup point, and we gratefully fell into the plush leather seats.

“That ward’s going to be a problem,” Emery said softly, looking out his window. “It doesn’t give us much time, even if it would let us in a second time after overstaying our welcome this time.”

“If we think on it, maybe we can counteract it, like with the invisible bubble I created.”

“If that bubble fails, though, we won’t have time to get out.”

“Okay, well, then we’ll need to get in another way. Clearly the Looming Press of Death knew we were up to no good.” I saw his cheek lift in a smile, but he didn’t turn back my way. “Just look at where we entered the compound. If I were them, I’d leave all the non-access areas booby-trapped. So then, we get in through a normal access way. That should help us get around the problem.”

“Pardon me for interrupting,” the driver said. His eyes studied me in the rearview mirror. “But Mr. Regent has access to that facility during non-peak hours. He can get you into the compound, and into a couple of the buildings, too.”

This time, Emery did look away from the window. His expression said he was not amused, but he didn’t comment.

So I did it for him.

“And you only thought to mention this now, after we risked our lives to break in?”

The driver’s eyes flashed to me again, but they held no apology. “Mr. Regent’s orders.”

“They want control over the situation.” Emery looked back out the window. “And they want their magic.”

“What magic?”

“The magic you’re going to help me make.”

After we’d had showers and an impromptu nap, the driver brought us to a spacious, mostly empty warehouse near a shipping yard. The daylight hours were waning and I was exhausted, but we couldn’t stop now. If we wanted the vampires’ help, we had to play their game.

Or so Emery had said.

“Wow.” I widened my eyes as we approached the ingredient station. Every type of herb imaginable rested on the long table. Various stones, gems, and even sticks dominated the other end.

“Check out those power stones.” Emery picked up a stack of papers and started leafing through.

Large and small, the stones and gems were an array of beautiful colors and textures, each prettier than the last. Power pulsed within them, the feelings warring or working with one another. Two of them needed to be separated immediately. They absolutely hated each other.

It was times like this that I was reminded why people thought I was so weird.

“What do you want to know about them?” I asked, zeroing in on one in particular. It was shaped almost like a diamond, and the inside looked like fire. Streaks of red were enhanced with dark red and black, giving a blazing sort of appearance and vibe. I placed it in my palm and let my eyes drift shut, feeling the pleasant pulse match the beating of my heart.

Electricity sizzled across my skin, and I felt Emery silently draw near. For a large man, he could walk softly. “A red beryl, as rare and beautiful as you are.”

Butterflies filled my stomach, and I smiled, opening my eyes to find him staring at me. “This one has a lot of power even though it’s not very big.”

He stepped up to the table and put out his hand. “Let me know which ones want to be my friend.”

I laughed and moved closer until my side was touching his, watching as his hand moved over the stones. He looked my way. “Well?”

“Oh. You were serious?”

“Of course. Some girls have dolls. Apparently you have rocks. I can work with that.”

I crinkled my nose. That wasn’t the best analogy…

“Haven’t you been working with power stones for a long time?” I ran my hand down his arm and then grasped his hand, homing in on the rocks again as I concentrated on the pulse of his power and energy.

“Yes,” I said. “I can use any power stone, but some are easier to work with than others. I’m wondering if that’s because of something you can feel but I can’t.”